Ok, I couldn't have done this one on my own. It's only thanks to 12 other ladies that I am able to include this new experience in my 30-day project. Therefore this is more of a "we" post than an "I" post. However, I can't speak for the rest of my group mates. Perhaps madrigals are just another day in the choir room for them. But for me, this was a first.
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| Madrigal Mates |
The musical group I sing with is strictly a pop group. In our repertoire, the 1938 jazz standard "Our Love is Here to Stay" by Gershwin is as ancient as we get. So singing a madrigal is completely out of our wheelhouse. Many of us, myself included, were trained to sing in classical choirs. I've sung my fair share of true choral works: Handel's Messiah, Fauré's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah. Legit stuff. But a madrigal is something I've never touched. Madrigals are a type of chamber music that originated in Italy in the 14th century. It's perhaps best connected to its second popularization in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Either way, this shit be old.
Most importantly, Madrigals are sort of like a cappella musical poetry. The usual form is two or three stanzas of three lines each, with 7 or 11 syllables per line. It also usually changes tempo from common time to 6/8, which is a particularly tricky tempo change to maneuver. And it's polyphonic, meaning it's always meant to be sung by multiple voices. Enter Treble.
We began learning the madrigal two weeks ago. It was a piece of cake. We nailed it. The end.
Yeah. Not so much. We started out by learning the rhythm only. We spoke the lyrics to rhythm over and over again before even attempting the music. That seemed to go OK. Then, we banged out the notes. Ok, time to put the two together. It was like a peanut butter and vaseline sandwich. There was nothing... no song... not even a sloppy madrigal. Cacophony. So, under strict instructions, we went home and worked on the piece individually. I must have listened to it 25 times over the past week.
We reconvened last night. The first go wasn't impressive. We banged out the tricky measures over and over, building the sound brick by brick, layer by layer, until we were making it through... slowly. Then, something just clicked. We could hear what it was supposed to sound like... rich, beautiful harmonies, tightly bobbing and weaving around each other in less than two octaves worth of musical space. It was gorgeous. The movement of each part showed its purpose. But that purpose couldn't be revealed alone. Only when the four parts lock together could we see the composer's destination. We were singing a madrigal.
This awesome high carried us through the rest of an awesome (and long) rehearsal. Our sense of achievement was palpable. Every song we sang after that was better, juicier, more dynamic. The madrigal was almost... magical.
Did I forget to mention that it is a madrigal version of "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britney? Oops. Must have forgot.
(Yes, that Britney.)
Results: Though chamber music isn't my usual genre of choice, I'm so incredibly happy to have learned one. And I cannot wait to perform it with 12 amazing musicians next week!
Status: Success!
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